Police nab man within half hour of bank robbery in Lower Saucon

Police arrested a 29-year-old Bethlehem man within a half hour of a bank robbery Wednesday in Lower Saucon Township.

Robert Edward Boehm, 1423 Monocacy St., was charged with robbery, theft, receiving stolen property, carrying a gun without a license and as a convicted felon, and drunken driving.

Boehm admitted to the robbery, according to court records.

According to Lower Saucon police:

Boehm pointed a gun at a teller at the Embassy Bank, 3495 Route 378, at 2:38 p.m. He then fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash and ran east on Colesville Road, where he jumped in what witnesses described as a dark-colored Jeep Liberty.

At 3 p.m., a Lower Saucon officer driving north on Route 378 spotted a Jeep whose driver matched Boehm's description. The officer, with the help of state police and Upper Saucon police, pulled Boehm over on Center Valley Parkway. When police told him to get out, Boehm complied but then jumped back in and sped away. He quickly pulled over again on his own and surrendered. Tellers then identified Boehm as the robber.

Police did not charge a 24-year-old woman who was a passenger in the Jeep. Lower Saucon officer Scott Snyder said the woman was not with Boehm at the time of the robbery.

Boehm told police he had the woman hide the gun he used in the robbery, a box of cash and the clothing he was wearing during the robbery, according to court records.

The woman told police she hid the items in her Lower Saucon home. Police found an undisclosed amount of cash in a shoe box in her closet and the gun under her bed.

Boehm was arraigned Wednesday night by District Judge Patricia A Romig-Passaro of Bethlehem and sent to Northampton County Prison under $300,000 bail.

Snyder said Bethlehem police have contacted Lower Saucon because they want to talk to Boehm in connection with an armed robbery last Thursday at Potts' Doggie Shop, 114 W. Fairview St. in Bethlehem.

In that robbery, a man also pointed a gun at an employee and fled in a Jeep Liberty. Bethlehem police Lt. Mark DiLuzio said Thursday that police are still investigating the Potts' robbery.

Morning Call archives show Boehm was charged in 2002 with receiving stolen property and harassment in two separate incidents.